Apr
12
I’m going to share one of my favorite Mexican treats with you: The Raspado. Kind of like a snow cone, but like 1,498 times better. I hate referring to a snow cone, because that makes me think of bright blue raspberry stains on the faces of fat children standing next to green-faced people at the fair. Little paper cones with unnatural colored sugary liquid. Now that I have totally taken away your appetite, I am going to tell you how good the Mexican version is! The difference is that the ones the I have had here are made with real fruit. Pureed mango, pineapple, guayaba… You name it, poured over shaved ice in a tall glass. They also make them with ice cream, coffee, cajeta (carmel) and leche evaporada (evaporated milk). Some have pecans or peanuts on top. My favorite at “La Veinte Cuatro” is coco con cajeta, leche evaporada y nuez. It is delicious. (If you were wondering it is Coconut with Carmel, with a little evaporated milk and some pecans on top.) Mango and Pineapple is super good too. Hey, it’s fruit and ice! Okay, not the Coconut one, but that’s an extra special treat =). I found a recipe in a magazine here for Raspados de Coco (coconut) and translated it below.
2 C. Water
1/4 C. Sugar
1/4 c. Powdered Milk
1 oz (1/8 c.) Finely ground Corn Meal (Fécula de maíz)
1 C. Shredded Coconut (Unsweetened, but if you only have sweetened just cut back on the sugar)
3/4-1 C. Evaporated Milk, to taste.
Boil the water for 5 minutes, then add the sugar. Turn off the flame, and add the powered milk. Add the coconut and evaporated milk. Chill. Fill a glass with shaved ice then add the coconut liquid until you have a smoothie-consistency. For my favorite way, add carmel and chopped pecans.
There you have it! I haven’t tried it but tell me how it is! =)
I went to “La Veinte-Cuatro” today in my afternoon class, and afterwards we went to a park where there is an old aqueduct. About five years ago they built a park around the aqueduct. Sadly I didn’t have my camera and the house was locked and couldn’t get it before we left. We are going back Thursday to take pictures, although. It’s really pretty, like something you might find in Europe. In the same park there is also the Mounted Police’s stables. Went and saw the horses… It made me miss having mine SO much. What I would give to go riding again! After walking around for a little while we came back up the hill to the car, to find out that a car next to ours had been stolen! Just while we had been walking around below…. Yikes! So happy it wasn’t the one we had drove.
Took a walk this afternoon after class, and have been chatting with the little daughter of the gal who helps my host mom out in the kitchen. She’s spending the night =). She is learning English in school and is super cute. She’s been sitting her telling me words in English or in Spanish and I translate them for her… She was sitting next to me in the bed, and asking about phrases like “sit down” sentarse and “Open” abrir… “Sunny” sol. This one took me a minute. They teach the kids the “cute” version of English. Doggie, kittie, and sunny? Okay, haha. Then out comes “Bitch”. Um, what was that honey? You learned this in school? Yes. Your teacher taught you this word? Yes. I’m surprised. Then she told me what she meant in Spanish, “Pescado”. Ohhhhh, claro! FISH. Dime, FISH. I was relived to learn that the teachers aren’t teaching the kindergarten class to cuss. Haha.
Ate dinner and am settling down for the night with a tall glass of water and Law and Order dubbed over in Spanish on TV. Well that’s that, buenas noches!
Mmm yummmyyyynesss! Visit the link at the top for the recipe =)
